Marlin leaves injured crew in its wake

In a battle of wills between a 270-kilogram black marlin and the crew of a fishing boat, the latter came off second best.

Deep sea anglers had a close encounter with the massive contorting fish, which leapt on to the boat, knocking over one crew member and sending a piece of timber flying across the deck.

The projectile hit a second person in the head, but the crew members suffered only minor injuries, according to the Little Audrey charter fishing company.

Little Audrey captain Dan Carlson said the marlin “got away healthy as", and there was no damage to the boat.

He said the "pretty normal" encounter occurred during a private fishing trip a week ago on the Ribbon Reefs off Cairns in far north Queensland.

The spectacular scene was captured on cameras and posted on YouTube.

By last night the official video has attracted fewer than 1000 hits but the unofficial version — with Kenny Loggins' Danger Zone from the Top Gun soundtrack serving as the backing track — had been viewed more than 2.3 million times.